Training a RCA
- Thread starter gemini68
- Start date
Rt2mailman
Well-known member
No. Unless you are the only the job trainer, a job nobody wants. OJI is a carrier that is a trainer for newbies.
Unless your office has access to an extra government vehicle, your pm is out of luck. Or he can drive the newbie around in his Corvette.
You don't wait for anything, you're a regular. If your pm wants training for a new rca he needs to do it without ADDING to your day.
Here's what we do in my office.
First day I take the last 2/3rds of my route and newbie takes the first 1/3. If we have an extra vehicle he will use that, if we don't, he will wait until one of our fast carriers are done, and take their vehicle.
2nd day second 3rd, 3rd day, 3rd 3rd..
After that the new rca is ready, although help is expected to be given to them as needed.
Unless your office has access to an extra government vehicle, your pm is out of luck. Or he can drive the newbie around in his Corvette.
You don't wait for anything, you're a regular. If your pm wants training for a new rca he needs to do it without ADDING to your day.
Here's what we do in my office.
First day I take the last 2/3rds of my route and newbie takes the first 1/3. If we have an extra vehicle he will use that, if we don't, he will wait until one of our fast carriers are done, and take their vehicle.
2nd day second 3rd, 3rd day, 3rd 3rd..
After that the new rca is ready, although help is expected to be given to them as needed.
Shannonboy
Well-known member
No....this is not true.....unless you are given a direct order, in which case, you should grieve it immediately. Your pm is a MORON...
Rt2mailman
Well-known member
Ask your new pm to show you in the Contract or any Usps manuals that you are responsible to add to your normal work day hours without additional pay to train a new rca. There is nothing that describes you as the oji, on the job instructor. Our contract does say if there is ANY new duty added to your day, you are to be paid on form 8127.
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gotstamps
Well-known member
You do not split the route when training. The new RCA is required to have 24 hours of training with the Regular or OJI ( if there is one in the office). You must be with the RCA in order to train them. You have no idea if they are doing the job correctly if you aren’t there to witness & correct.
Requirements are 24 hours of training with the Regular but mgmt can allow more. Then the new RCA cannot case/carry any other route for the 1st 2 Pay Periods & the Regular cannot work their Relief Day. FYI: new RCA is an RCA fresh out of Academy with no previous RCA experience.
Shannonboy
Well-known member
Or actually clean up a mess if things go south, and you get a cryer, or a screamer sub that throws all the mail and packages out in the middle of the road somewhere at 9:15pm.....because your pm is a lazy BASS-TURD that goes home at 3pm and just leaves em out there hanging..
Page #5 on the first attachment has this ;
Assignment
Rural carriers’ assigned new employees on their routes as rural carrier associates (RCAs) will normally provide OJT. Classroom instructors may also be used as OJT instructors in their own stations.
As @gotstamps stated, it's ON THE JOB training. You sitting in the office IS NOT on the job. And it is a MINIMUM of 24 hours OJT. When and while you are with the new hire, you can immediately point out things that occur. How something got mis- cased , the new hire forgot the SPR, watch this house as kids always dart out, etc. The second attachment is the complete OJI instructor manual for anyone interested.
Assignment
Rural carriers’ assigned new employees on their routes as rural carrier associates (RCAs) will normally provide OJT. Classroom instructors may also be used as OJT instructors in their own stations.
As @gotstamps stated, it's ON THE JOB training. You sitting in the office IS NOT on the job. And it is a MINIMUM of 24 hours OJT. When and while you are with the new hire, you can immediately point out things that occur. How something got mis- cased , the new hire forgot the SPR, watch this house as kids always dart out, etc. The second attachment is the complete OJI instructor manual for anyone interested.
Rt2mailman
Well-known member
Yes, 24 hours, at least, of training with the regular.
Like this:
Comes in and cases with the regular and takes first 1/3 of the route at 5-8 hours
Comes in and takes the 2nd 1/3 @ 3-5 hours, last 1/3 @ 3-4 hours.
Depending on how fast this newbie is they can repeat the whole thing again or just the parts they had a hard time learning.
There is NOTHING in writing that describes anything written above unless you are the on the job instructor.
Nobody could have paid me enough to ride with a sub my PM wanted me to ride with. His car didn't look like it would run for 1/2 of the route let alone stop before we went over a cliff. We are not required to ever place our lives in the hands of another driver, only employees that received training how to be an OJI, a VOLUNTEER position.
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Morty
Well-known member
Im an OJI.
Did you know, there's an actual postal service training guidebook that has EXACT instructions on training?
And if you read the book, you will see the trainer gets 4 additional paid hours or aux assistance equivalent.
Essentially, you as the trainer hang back and observe the newbie do EVERYTHING and instruct when needed. That means they case, do parcels, pull down, load, deliver, and do end stuff. You are with them 3 days, you do not do any of the above, only observe and instruct.
Did you know, there's an actual postal service training guidebook that has EXACT instructions on training?
And if you read the book, you will see the trainer gets 4 additional paid hours or aux assistance equivalent.
Essentially, you as the trainer hang back and observe the newbie do EVERYTHING and instruct when needed. That means they case, do parcels, pull down, load, deliver, and do end stuff. You are with them 3 days, you do not do any of the above, only observe and instruct.
Duckyslide
Member
I was told by my ADR that we are required to work up to our evaluation when training a new RCA. It’s not supposed to be I have less work today gonna go home early. Don’t know if this is correct or not.
Rt2mailman
Well-known member
Yes, and is there any instructions pertaining to regular carriers that are not OJI's doing the work that is supposed to be done by an OJI?
NO, because regular carriers aren't supposed to be doing it, but because the Usps, as usual can NOT make the job de$irable, they can't get any VOLUNTEERS. The pm's then turn towards the regulars to fix what they can't get done properly, as instructed, with an OJI, and direct the regular to
do it for FREE. They can't expect us to do that extra work for FREE.
The only way I've seen this work is to INTICE the regular to help train this new rca by allowing the regular to get some of his route (1/3) taken by the newbie while the regular "potentially" gets to go home a little bit earlier that day. I've trained over 40 rcas in my career, many have gone on to become excellent carriers and even retire. I have helped them learn the route and even helped them sort their raw mail on my day off for free. After all the wage theft by the Usps through Rrecs there is NOTHING I will ever do for "Free" anymore. Besides, the help needed by that new rca (that the USPS expects the regular to do for free) is taking $/time away from other rcas that are paid to give aux help to these new rcas.
With no OJI in the office, the method I outlined earlier does work, and does provide an appropriate avenue to train new rcas without requiring any free work from the regular, and at the same time building "Team" work with other Rcas that may/are required to help the new rcas.
Shannonboy
Well-known member
Yeah.....and if you do do that...OBSERVE, and INSTRUCT....You are going to be doing it a lot! Because...most of your subs will quit....you gotta get in there, and with a little hands on, and show them it is possible to do it. IMO....I helped all of my subs some for three days, and never lost one, and showing them how to do it definitely seems to make people more comfortable, and keeps it from seeming so daunting.....because on a Monday, or a Saturday it can ROAST your NUTS especially if you are a newbie...
Rt2mailman
Well-known member
Your ADR doesn't know what he's talking about.
Let's think about this logically.
If I get done every day at 11-12 it's ok that I worked under my evaluation. Then when I have to train a new Rca, i have to work until 4? No, not true, there is NEVER a requirement that a regular must work their evaluation.
Please ask your ADR for documentation as to where he got that information. He won't get back to you because nothing in our contract says that.
Duckyslide
Member
It’s very frustrating having to double check everything told to me. These are the people we are supposed to rely on for clarification. Better off going on instinct and using I didn’t know any better later as the excuse.
Our offices have the OJI do the initial ride along in which the potential employee is seeing whether this job fits them before USPS invests in the Academy and other training costs.
If the new RCA is hired, they report to the OJI for three days of training (24 hours) on the SAME route. First day is more observation and questions, the second is sharing the route, and third is new RCA does entire route with OJI in rumble seat watching and correcting and advising.
Our offices are LLV so we can accommodate the jump seat for RCA or OJI.
